No matter what Bernanke says, investors aren’t going to like it

U.S. stock futures are falling this morning in anticipation of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech later today from the central bank’s annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Investors have already braced themselves for the fact that The Beard is unlikely to offer much indication of additional stimulus efforts from the Fed.

After all, in a rare show of dissent, three members of the Open Market Committee earlier this month opposed the wording in a Fed statement in which the central bank vowed to keep interest rates near zero until mid-2013. The reason: the three regional Fed presidents believe the economy is actually beginning to show signs of growth, promptng fears that inflation could accelerate. They believe the Fed’s best response is to do nothing at this point.

Having already made his interest-rate pledge, though, there’s little Bernanke can add. Another round of asset purchases seems premature and could prove ineffective, much like the earlier program that the Fed ended in June.

Bernanke, who was recently declared a traitor by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, might decide to engage in a little political rhetoric himself. After all, he warned Washington about the dangers that a bitter debt ceiling debate would bring to the markets and the economy, but no one listened. He’s also advocated more aggressive fiscal policy stimulus in the short-term, combined with more serious debt-reduction efforts in the long term, but again, no one is listening. (This seems to be much the same argument that Warren Buffett was making in his “coddled billionaires” op-ed piece, but no one seemed to hear him, either.)

Bernanke could argue that we have reached the limit of what monetary policy can do for the recovery, and that it’s way past time for the politicians to do their part. Given comments like Perry’s, though, it’s clear politicians get more mileage from demonizing Bernanke and the Fed than they do from supporting sound fiscal policy.

In other words, Bernanke really has nothing more to say on monetary policy. The best hope for reviving the economy may lie with Congress. No wonder investors are worried.